And She's Off . . . Into the Water

Trial and error seems to be, unfortunately, the way we learn as parents. From day one whether it's about how your baby likes to be nursed or whether they want to sleep swaddled, we go through the days and weeks trying new foods, new schedules, new tricks to get our kids to sleep or bribes to get them to go potty. Parenting isn't only about our kids, it's also us learning as we go. I feel with each stage I get smarter as a mom, yet my kids always put me back into my place.

So, we're back to the swim topic again. Yesterday after our disastrous class, I decided to lighten up. I took her to the pool again in the afternoon and watched her do--on her own--all the things her instructor had asked her to do four hours earlier: face in the water, kicking, floating on back with a noodle, etc. She did it all on her own without the tears. So what's a mom to do? Instead of obsessing about it all evening and this morning, I just let it go by until we got to swim class.

Anna told me she would not swim with Andy and that she would cry if I made her. I told her, 'I will come with you, but we're going to ask together if you can switch to the other teacher.' And we did. And she did. They agreed it would be best. And do you know what? I now am the proud mother of a little Starfish. She couldn't keep still. She was kicking and putting her face in and splashing around better than anyone else. She needed someone she was comfortable with. She kept looking back at me and squealing with delight.

Trial and error. We do, we learn, we make mistakes, but in the end, I think we usually figure it out.